Paris "Pat" Ruth Henley

Paris “Pat” Ruth Henley, 91, of Belle, passed away peacefully at Capital Region Medical Center on Monday, August 28, 2023.  She had been a resident of Stonebridge Senior Living in Westphalia for the past 2 years.

Pat was born on August 26, 1932, to the late Rev. Roy C Jett and Gussie (Haines) Jett.

On February 10, 1951, she married Herbert Lee Henley.   He preceded her in death on September 12, 2001.

Pat was a sixty-plus year member of College Hill Baptist church where she was the pianist for those years.  She spent her life as a homemaker and spent many hours working in her yard and flower beds.   Paris attended every Belle Fair from its inception in 1948 until her health deteriorated and she ultimately moved to the nursing facility in 2021.

Paris supported her husband’s career as an elected official in Belle for over forty years.  She volunteered in the city hall helping produce water bills and recording collections.  For 40 years, she assisted in the dispatching of police officers through the home base radio. Her children remember her words, “Belle to 301” like it was yesterday…that was her family’s version of “Mom calling Dad”.   Pat and Herb also owned small businesses in the trucking and charcoal industry.  She is remembered by her children as doing the bookkeeping and clerical duties for those businesses in the evenings after her homemaking duties were complete.

In addition to her parents and husband, Paris was preceded in death by three brothers, Raymond Jett, Elmer Jett and Hershel “Shorty” Jett; one granddaughter, Brandy Hoover; and one grandson, Nicholas Barnes.

Left to cherish her memory are her children, Mark Henley (Debbie) of Belle, Mary Ann Allen (Clark) of Poplar Bluff, and Jana Rae Salmons (Brad) of Fulton; sister-in-law, Bernita Abel; grandchildren, Dustin Henley, Crystal Hoover, Jaymie Hitchcock, Cole Allen (Ashley), Hope Hillis (Tyler), Jaylyn Wilson (Jonah), Jenna Rodriguez (Felix); great-grandchildren, Caitlyn Henley, Hailey Barnes, Conner Allen, Jaycie Balkenbush, Peyton Barnes, Rylie Balkenbush, Keaton Hitchcock, Judah Wilson, Jax Kempker, Cade Hillis, Julian Wilson, Joseph Hillis, and Grant Hillis; and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held Friday, September 1, 2023, at 12:00 pm at Sassmann’s Chapel in Belle.   The family will receive friends from 10:30 until the time of the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggest a donation to Belle Community Betterment Association for beautification of Belle in Pat’s memory c/o of Sassmann’s Chapel, 207 Linn Ave, Belle, MO 65013.